Take some of these cookies to bed with you and all that will be left the next morning will be the crumbs in the duvet. These are dangerous cookies. Crisp yet crumbly and packed with chocolate chips, they are a must with tall glasses of ice-cold milk or stacked with an obscene amount of ice cream.

Ingredients: (Makes about 12 large or 20 regular cookies)

• 75 g/3 oz/6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 75 g/3 oz/6 tablespoons golden caster (superfine) sugar
• 75 g/3 oz/6 tablespoons soft light brown sugar, sifted
• 1 large (US extra large) egg, beaten
• 2.5 ml/½ teaspoon vanilla essence (extract)
• 150 g/5 oz/1¼ cups self-raising (self-rising) flour
• 25 g/1 oz/¼ cup (unsweetened) cocoa powder
• 1.5 ml/¼ teaspoon salt
• 100 g/4 oz chopped plain (semisweet) chocolate or chocolate chips
• Ice cream or cold milk, to serve

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Butter two heavy, non-stick baking sheets. Cream the butter and both sugars together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla essence.

Sift the flour with the cocoa and salt. Gently fold into the egg mixture with the chopped chocolate or chocolate chips. Place four heaped tablespoonfuls of the mixture, spaced well apart, on each baking sheet. Press down and spread out with the back of a wet spoon.

Bake for 12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then remove to a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Store in an airtight container when cold. Serve with ice cream sandwiched between, or eat on their own with a glass of ice-cold milk.